Stephen P. Benson, M.S.

Stephen Benson is an associate in the firm’s Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation Practice.

Mr. Benson has varied litigation experience, with emphasis on the litigation of complex pharmaceutical patents in the Hatch-Waxman context. In particular, Mr. Benson was a member of both the trial and appellate teams responsible for successfully invalidating the patent covering Pfizer’s blockbuster drug, Norvasc. (Pfizer, Inc. v. Apotex, Inc., 480 F.3d 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2007)) Mr. Benson has participated in numerous other Hatch-Waxman litigations, including ongoing litigations having substantial antitrust, patent misuse and complex regulatory issues. In some cases, Mr. Benson’s development of invalidity positions in tandem with experts has led to favorable settlements, obviating the need for expensive trial and appellate processes.

Mr. Benson received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan in 2001, with a concentration in Microbiology. He was an Angell Hall Scholar and was admitted to the honors college in 1998 for the study of microbiology and physics. In 2000, Mr. Benson was nominated to the University of Michigan chapter of the National Physics Society Sigma Pi Sigma.

During his matriculation at the University of Michigan, Mr. Benson was awarded a Summer Biomedical Research Grant to study bacterial pathogenicity factors of Haemophilus influenzae. Mr. Benson’s research related to the purification and characterization of the terminal pilus protein, HifE, utilizing, for example, protein purification, crystallization and x-ray diffraction techniques. Mr. Benson’s research was presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of The Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2001. In addition to Mr. Benson’s bench research, he conducted clinical research for the Department of Pediatric Neurology and the General Clinical Research Center at the University of Michigan Medical Center (UMMC), including clinical research relating to pediatric migraine headaches. Mr. Benson’s report on the historical incidence and treatment of pediatric migraine headaches at the UMMC Emergency Department was used by staff physicians to better implement treatment strategies for pediatric patients with acute migraine distress.

Mr. Benson continued his education at Northwestern University, receiving a Master of Science in 2002 with a concentration in Neurobiology and Physiology. Mr. Benson’s thesis research related to the identification of neuronal populations within the rodent hippocampus responding to in vitro estrogen treatment. In vitro estrogen treatment had previously been implicated as influencing hippocampal neural plasticity, learning and memory. While finalizing and defending his thesis, Mr. Benson began attending the DePaul University College of Law in the fall of 2002.

Mr. Benson attended the DePaul University College of Law on a Merit Scholarship. During his matriculation, Mr. Benson won awards in the studies of contract law and the law of the European Union. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 2005 with a Certificate in International and Comparative Law.

While in law school, Mr. Benson was a clerk at an intellectual property boutique firm. During his time as a clerk, Mr. Benson participated in complex patent litigation relating to the electrical and mechanical arts. Mr. Benson also participated in trademark infringement and validity litigation. In particular, Mr. Benson was the primary draftsman on a principal brief in support of summary judgment that resulted in the cancellation of an opposing party’s trademark registration. Mr. Benson successfully argued the registrant had impermissibly broadened its goods and services recitation during prosecution, submitted false affidavits of use relating to services it did not provide and misused its registration symbol in commerce. (Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. v. Allied Nat., Inc., 2006 WL344277 (D.N.J. 2006))

As an associate, Mr. Benson is able to draw on his diverse academic and professional experiences when assisting clients. In particular, Mr. Benson’s experience has been a valuable asset to clients during the fact development and expert discovery phases of patent litigation when prosecuting patent applications relating to medical devices, container closure configurations, and children’s toys and when providing infringement and validity opinions for clients in the electrical engineering fields. Finally, Mr. Benson has been able to utilize his scientific experience as an asset when deposing expert witnesses and when presenting various issues to the court.

Mr. Benson is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.